Interior design talent brings her ‘timeless’ work to town
If you haven’t yet heard of Amanda Hamilton you may want to look her up.
The Canadian design talent has made a name in the interior design industry by specializing in unique decor for her clients.
Hamilton chatted with Postmedia News about launching her services in Vancouver, her home accessories collection, and why being right-brained worked out. Q When and why did you first get into interior design?
A As long as I can remember, I was considered artistic; my poor math and science skills apparently further supported my proclivity toward the creative. As a young child, just years out of diapers, I was sketching, crafting and drafting short stories written and illustrated by yours truly. This passion for all things right brain evolved to include acting and learning to play several instruments, including voice.
It seems that my grey matter determined my early education, which led me to general arts studies at the University of Alberta. Previously an A+ student, I quickly became disenchanted with my studies. It was during this time, a little lost and confused, that I went down the road of finding a program that I felt would allow me to explore myself creatively while challenging me with the technical aspects as it related to construction and building systems.
In 2002, I moved to Calgary to pursue my bachelor of Applied Interior Design at Mount Royal University. I would like to note that my math skills have improved substantially and I’m an undercover science junkie.
Q How would you describe your design esthetic?
A I don’t have an esthetic. As a studio, we live by the idea that we don’t imitate others and we certainly don’t imitate ourselves. A part of the joy we get to experience as designers is the journey of working with a client to come to solutions that are specifically tailored to suit their needs and express their individual personality. If anything could be said about our esthetic, it is that it focuses very little on trends as we are more interested in the timelessness, longevity, legacy and integrity behind design. We want our work to span generations.
Q What made this the right time to set up a studio in Vancouver?
A Vancouver has always felt like a second home, as I grew up sailing in the San Juan and Gulf Islands with my grandfather.
I’ve been slowly transitioning to making Vancouver a second home ... so it was rather serendipitous when Jamie Gerus, who worked for me previously, phoned to say she was returning to Canada from a two-year stint in California. I happened to be walking through work spaces at the time. Jamie knows our work and brand so well that it was the perfect fit to have her in Vancouver as our designer on the ground.
Q What’s inspiring you now?
A Disruption within any given industry, the changing face of retail and consumerism and the movement toward the “new feminism.” They all might seem disconnected to interior design, but we continually look to social and cultural influences to inform our design, evolve our perception and challenge us as individuals. Q You have your own accessories line. What is on offer?
A Our most recent additions include a plateware collaboration with Brooke Winfrey of BTW Ceramics. We also have our signature candle which we designed with a company out of Brooklyn, as well as a number of textiles, rugs, pillows, blankets and wallpaper.